Disaster Exercises at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital

San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital prides itself on being prepared for any emergency that may affect the San Gorgonio service area. In the month of June, SGMH participated in two disaster preparedness drills at the leadership of Jan Merrick, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.

On Thursday, June 26, 2014, SGMH participated in a county-wide Communications Failure table-top exercise, which tested the Hospital’s coordinated response efforts.

The exercise was an opportunity for SGMH to test not only its response to a communications failure, but also the programs and equipment that SGMH uses in an emergency situation. The hospital’s Ham Radios and Satellite phone were utilized, as well as Live Process and ReddiNet, two online programs which allow sophisticated communication with the County of Riverside and other local healthcare agencies.

Merrick expressed the importance of preparing for a wide variety of emergencies that have the potential to affect SGMH and the surrounding area, saying “Having two fairly large exercises within one month is a big undertaking, but our Associates and response partners helped me pull together a great training exercise.

“The support of the hospital leadership, community leaders and response partners has been crucial in making our Emergency Management program successful at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital,” said Merrick. “Exercises like this, which integrate our organization with our County and City, only support the mission of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and exemplify a true commitment to the community.”

The Hospital also partnered with the Sun Lakes community and the Highland Springs Surgery Center (HSSC) for a Disaster Exercise on Friday afternoon, June 13, 2014. The exercise was designed to test how Sun Lakes residents, HSSC, and the Hospital would respond to and work together in the event of an emergency situation.

“Full-scale and functional exercises like this allow SGMH to practice, test our plans, and stress our systems beyond the usual day-to-day activity,” Merrick said. “Opportunities like the Sun Lakes Disaster Drill help me as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at SGMH to prepare our organization, our Associates, and our community in response and sustainability in the event of a disaster.”